A Promise To Remember
by thehunter2019
Summary: During the Ethereal Moon, a professor and his student made a vow on top of the Goddess Tower, Now, 5 years after the fall of Garreg Mach, they reunite, but fate had different plans for the two. Now they stand on opposing sides of the conflict. Crimson Flower route, slight AU but mostly follows canon.


A/N: Hey guys this is the first time for me to be writing any kind of FF, my skills aren't that great but I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, real locations, and people are purely coincidental. Slight AU because I can't keep my ideas consistent.

**A promise to remember**

"It can't be… Professor?" amidst the fighting, a pink haired axe wielder gasped.

The black armored mercenary slowly turned around, and suddenly, with slight eye-widen expression, his eyes met with does of the axe wielding girl. He hesitantly readied his bone like sword and waited for his opponent to make a move.

"Do not hesitate professor" she told him readying her axe, "If only we could have met in a different way."

"Hilda… I'm terribly sor-"

"Don't! It is better this way" She told him in a sorrowful way. This is just cruel, here she is defending what is left of the Alliance, yet the man she fell in love with is here again, but in the opposite side. Claude, the leader of the Alliance told her to run away if the situation got dire, but he for sure knew that she wouldn't.

"Professor, do you remember our promise?"

"Of course." He said as he got closer. How cruel the Gods can be sometimes.

**5 years ago (Ethereal Moon)**

It was 5 years ago during the Grand Ball at the officer's academy. Byleth, the new professor at Garreg Mach, somehow became the most popular professor, he was asked to dance non-stop by the various students of the three houses. Claude of the Golden Deer dragged him to the dance floor as soon as the music started against his will. Edelgard and Dimitri disappeared from the ball as soon as the opening dance finished, Dorothea dragged Bernadetta out of her room, Hubert stood at the corner looking in Edelgard's whereabouts. Ferdinand danced with other members of the academy, Lindhard was nowhere to be seen, and Caspar asked Petra about the Brigid way of dancing.

After the next cue to switch partners, Byleth excused himself, and made a hasty retreat towards the back exit.

"Hey teach! Where you heading to?" Claude noticed the professor's departure.

"…" Due to the crowd his question went unnoticed. He tried to make his way to him, but he lost him in the crowd. Claude wasn't the only one to notice the professor's departure, Hilda who was idling by the exit noticed how Byleth hurriedly left the vicinity.

"Now what could you be up to professor?" She wondered, "how bothersome, getting me curious like that professor." Hilda followed the professor.

Once outside, Byleth heard someone talk to him.

"Out so soon, it must be hard being the favorite professor" a green hair girl exclaimed.

"Sometimes Sothis." He replied.

"Ha, I knew it, there is nothing you can keep from me" she jokingly said.

"Sothis, isn't it weird that I'm exhausted, but instead of heading to my quarters I'm heading towards the Goddess Tower, it is like I'm being drawn towards there." He pondered.

"I do not know myself, but it must be some kind of fate that is waiting for your arrival, Now, let's not wait any longer, let's go see." Sothis ordered Byleth.

A few minutes later, Hilda noticed that he was walking towards the Goddess Tower.

"Woah, is he really going to rendezvous with someone?" She asked herself. "With who? Edelgard, Bernadetta, Marianne, or maybe Dorothea?" She then followed the professor inside. She was rounding the corner when suddenly, she saw two students talking, wasting no time she hid behind the wall only to bump into someone.

"EEK!" She yelped.

"AHH! the ghost is real!" This caused the two students on the opposite room to run away in fear.

She slowly turned around and noticed that the professor was standing right next to her. If she told anyone that she wasn't scared, it would have been a huge lie, the deadpan face the professor is know for having did not help his case.

"What are you doing here" he asked her.

"Professor! I could be asking you the same thing." She told him, regaining her usual personality.

Byleth crossed his arms. "Woah Professor, I jest. You aren't meeting anyone here right?" She asked.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not" he told her.

"I thought so! Do you know the legend of the tower, right professor?" she said while pulling her hand to the bottom of her chin. "I heard of it" Byleth replied. Of course he heard of it. The gatekeeper let him in on it, but to his knowledge it was not something he would of thought participating in due to his position as an instructor. Yet he always had a soft spot for the pinked haired axe wielder of the Golder Deer

"Well then, you then know that if a boy and a girl meet at the tower during the night of the ball, and they make a promise together, then the goddess herself might make it come true." She rattled on.

"Yes" he simply answered.

"Well I thought that you were going to meet someone here, so I decided to spy on you." She happily explained. "Actually, a few boys asked me to meet them here…"

That caused him to bite his lip a little. Why would he feel jealous, had he truly began developing dangerous feelings towards her? "Control yourself" Sothis scolded him.

"But do you know what happened?" she was teasing him.

With a sigh a relief he replied, "You turned them down?"

"Exactly, if I accepted, our vow would come true if the legend is true, but I tend to be cautious of such things. Do you know what professor?" She came closer.

A little flustered, Byleth started sweating, He has never seen Hilda so closed, he knew that she had big breast, but seeing them up close was a completely different story.

"You can never tell who a person really is just by looks, but getting to know you through our teatime has let me see you in a completely different way." That is true. Byleth knew that Hilda was different from the other students, she made sure that their was at least somebody there to do her work, but Byleth managed to find ways for her to push herself.

"How so?" he was stunned.

"I know that you are the professor for Edelgard's house, but you seem to understand me when we talk to each other" She started to blush a little, "So, when does boys invited me.. I don't know who they really are, but you are perfect, I know you and you know me, right~."

Eye widened, Byleth stuttered. Feeling the tension of both the moment and her heart, Hilda seeing that her flirty approach paid off decided to give him a few moments to let him decide.

"How about this, I'll give you some time to think it over."

"How about tomorrow?" he suggested, but only to be shut down by Hilda.

"It won't mean anything tomorrow!" She puffed. Byleth thinking it over, before Hilda said, "how about this, we can promise each other that we can live for one another. To love one another..." Baffled yet again. Byleth struggled to regain his composure.

"I jest professor, no need to be flustered over it" she giggled

"I'll say the same to you." Hilda also shared the shade of red on her cheeks.

"Now, now professor, it's time for us to head back, we are all looking forward to your arrival."

"I'm actually quite tired so-" he was shoved by Hilda, which made him stumble a few steps.

"Don't be a party pooper! C'mon go on a head, I'll catch up", she asked with her signature innocent smile. "I'm starting to understand how you are able to trick all does people" he murmured.

"What was that?

"Nothing!" Byleth then walked out.

With a sigh of relief, she looked out of the balcony and wondered "Did the goddess here that?" She sighed once more and returned to the Ball.

**Present day, Derdriu (Port City), Alliance Territory**

In Claude's final stand, only a few thousand troops still fought the empires army. Down towards the sought Hilda knew that Lysithea was commanding the southern gates. Claude told them that he has a secret trump card up his sleeve. Hilda oversaw the cities center defense, a few blocks from Lysithea's position.

"The enemy is here!" One of the southern messengers arrived and reported. "The southern position has been breached!" Another came wounded. "No way to get out of this one." She closed her eyes and pondered her life choices. "Oh professor, if only you where here." She readied Freikugel.

Not even a few minutes later, her side made contact with the enemy. Street fighting was not pretty to be frank. Archers hid inside the houses a showered the Empire soldiers with arrows. Slowly but surely, they started to lose ground.

"Heiyah" A Hero class soldier slashed his sword forward, Hilda managed to evade the attack by a few centimeters, and countered with Freikugel," HARGH!" the soldier screamed successfully killing the enemy. Amidst the chaos, she noticed a familiar face.

"It can't be…" She gasped.

Now back to the fight at hand.

Hilda lunged forward with her axe. Byleth blocked it with the sword of the creator, Groaning, Hilda side stepped to the left and swung her axe again, only for Byleth to easily evade it.

"I thought you were dead!" She yelled as she readied her axe again, panting.

"I'm sorry, but now is not the time to explain anything"

"You got that right"

He saw Ferdinand and Caspar approach, but he ordered them to keep their distance.

"Not sow fast" Freikugel started to glow, "Apocalyptic FLAME" she yelled. A large flame erupted from the axe and engulfed a few of the soldiers with fire. Caspar was unlucky and got hit but was able to get up. "Ferdinand! Take Caspar to a healer, that's an order!" Byleth yelled from his defensive position

"I Ferdinand von Aegir accepts this task" He picked up Caspar and set him on top of his horse. " HYAA" then the horse started galloping away "But I can still fight, let me down!" He struggled, but soon, they were gone.

"You know professor, I knew you came back as soon as the Empire took The Great Bridge of Myrddin" Hilda said with a tears in her eyes, "I will never know why you chose Edelgard's side over us 5 years ago, but it might be the same reason why Marianne joined your cause. Right?"

Now once again, they stood against each other. Byleth had no words to say, He knew that Hilda had a thing against Edelgard, but never knew why, "Listen Hilda, join our cause, Lysithea defected to our side, it does not have to be this way" Byleth choked on his words.

"Professor, I just want to tell you how much I love you," she began tearing up, gripping Freikugel harder. "But I can't join you, not now, not when my friends and home still need me…"

"I understand…" He trailed off, they took one last look at each other and lunged forward yet again.

"Heiyah!"

"ARGGG!"

Silence, the sounds of war faded away from both, they stood closed to each other that felt like an eternity, Hilda could here the steady breathing of Byleth, and Byleth could hear the increasing heartbeat from Hilda, Suddenly Hilda let go of her axe and collapsed onto Byleth. He held onto her as he removed the swords impaled into her stomach, he slowly kneeled with her, gasping for air. Byleth hugged her with all his might, beginning to show a bit of emotion. "I- I- III I'm sorry Hilda, there had to be a different way." Tears slowly began trailing down his cheeks.

"Thi-this was for the best," She said coughing up blood. "Please… let me see your… face." She requested. Byleth slowly pulled back. What he saw, was almost the same image he saw when they where at the Goddess Tower 5 years ago. He saw the beautiful pink eyes who sparkled in the sunlight.

"You are as beautiful as the day I met you" Byleth told her.

Slowly caressing his face, "And, you… look… look… just as handsome as the day I fell in love with you." She said. Hilda feels her life slowly slip away, she did not want to die, she still had things she wants to do. "I just wish, that some way, somehow, we could have been together" She closed her eyes, knowing that her time had finally come "Maybe, just maybe... Byleth… Claude I'm sorry"

She breathes her last and died on Byleth's shoulders.

"It's alright professor" Someone in crimson red armored put her arm on his shoulders. "Now it's not the time to grief, we still have a battle to win" she exclaimed before walking forward. The death of Hilda, caused the Alliance soldiers to route dropping their weapons on the way.

Byleth slowly settled Hilda's body on the ground. His world fell apart, not only is the one he loves dead, but he is the one that caused it. Wiping the tears away, he grabbed the sword of the creator and set foot. Edelgard is right, they can mourn all they want, but the mission isn't done yet. This is the path he chose as well.

"Maybe, just maybe, if things were different" Ships approached the harbor, flying the Almyran Flag. Gathering his soldiers and reuniting with Edelgard's forces, they pushed to where Claude was waiting, for the killing blow that will end the Alliance. He must now live on for the both of them. 'Hilda, I'll live for you, I promise."

* * *

A/N: Hello, I'm not someone who writes fanfictions, and I'll say that my story plots aren't that good and have I have horrible grammar skills, but it is nice to try something new every now and then. With that said, I like Hilda a lot, next to Bernie, she is one of my top favorite characters in Three Houses, but when I chose Edelgard's route, I didn't know that Hilda was not recruitable, I was able to build up support with her and manage to choose her for the Goddess tower, but during the interlude to the time skip, I knew that my work was in vein, so I decided to write how I felt their interaction could be like in Derdriu. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I hope I can write better next time.

TL;DR thanks, even for the deficiencies


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